Monday, September 26, 2016

Elementary school statistics

With the recent publication of the 2016 Official Catholic Directory, it is possible to look at some statistics of the Catholic elementary schools in The Bronx. Please realize that the data was probably collected more than a year ago, and some of the numbers may include pre-kindergarten enrollment, the free municipal Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program.  Also, some of the forty-four schools are listed with the same exact enrollment three years running, quite unlikely, and therefore suspect. The forty-four schools open in September, 2015, are listed in the directory as having about 14,300 students.  As St. John's-Visitation did not submit enrollments to the 2016 OCD, I use the word "about." I neglected to include Villa Maria numbers. The 2012 directory listed 17,380.
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The following analysis marks schools with suspect numbers with an asterisk, usually due to round numbers or the same enrollment repeated annually.  The five elementary schools with the highest enrollments are St. Raymond (901), Immaculate Melrose (511), Santa Maria (500*), St. Lucy (498*), Sacred Heart (471), and St. Clare (452).  At the median are Holy Family (340*), St. Francis Xavier (332), and St. Athanasius (315*). Lowest numbers were Sts. Philip and James (217), St. Philip Neri (209), St. Gabriel (204), St. Thomas Aquinas (180*), and St. Nicholas of Tolentine (163).  
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Also, please see the official websites:
http://buildboldfutures.org/regions/northeast-east-bronx/
and
http://buildboldfutures.org/regions/northwest-south-bronx/
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According to the above links, the total number of elementary school students in The Bronx is 13,721, probably a more accurate figure than the OCD totals. 

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Choosing a Catholic High School

The Test for Admission to Catholic High Schools is accepting applicants now.  Parents are urged to look at this information site (link here)  and read each of the links in the left-hand column.  You may have to print out some of the forms and directions. The list of schools is posted sideways on the PDF, so printing those pages would help you to read the information. It would appear that the thirteen Catholic high schools of The Bronx offer 2,415 places for incoming freshmen.
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Please also note the dates of the Open House visitations and the Information Fairs.
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The cost of the test is $63.
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You will also find an abundance of information in the 2016 Catholic High School Guide linked HERE.
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For students and parents intent on Catholic high school admission, the important point is to GET MOVING, as instructed above.
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The following note is of less importance. Because of my interest in Catholic education in the metropolitan area,  I list the number of seats available to freshmen in twelve counties:
The Bronx leads with 2,415 openings.
Queens, with 2,160 openings.
Manhattan, with 1.314 openings.
Staten Island, with 1,375.
Brooklyn, with 1,300 openings.
Westchester, with 1,179 openings.
Dutchess, with 190 openings.
Orange, with 110 openings.
Rockland, with 110 openings,
Ulster, with 60 openings.
Putnam and Sullivan, with no Catholic high schools.